Dukes Hand Monarchs First Loss

Gloucester's three goals in the first half against Menchville's boys soccer team Thursday were more than the Monarchs had given up in Peninsula District play all season. The previous total was two.

The Dukes' stellar start stood up for a 3-1 victory on the final day of regular season play for Menchville's first loss in the district this season. Not only did Menchville not lock up the Eastern Region tournament bid that goes to the district's regular-season champion, it may have to play again for it.

If Kecoughtan beats Woodside Saturday morning, Kecoughtan and Menchville (11-3, 8-1 Peninsula District) will finish the regular season tied for first place with one loss each. They would have a playoff next week to decide who will get the automatic bid to the Eastern Region tournament and top seeding in the district tournament.

"I'm surprised we came out as slow as we did in a game that meant that much," Menchville coach Jeff Sykes said.

Gloucester's Clif Kipper scored on line-drive shots on the ground, both into the left-hand corner of the goal, with eight and five minutes remaining in the first half, respectively. Teammate George Bains added the third goal on a chip shot, off an assist from Kipper, with a minute left until halftime.

A downpour ensued and players were sliding all over the field for most of the second half.

Menchville took more shots, but scored only once. With 23 minutes left, Tyler Greco's shot slid through the wet hands of Gloucester goalkeeper Sean Frye for a goal.

Gloucester High School students currently are dealing with the death earlier this week of senior football player Junior Marsh. Coach Trey Sowers said he wasn't sure how his team would respond to a game-time situation.

"I felt a little nervous playing the game to start, after all that's gone on in the high school with all the problems that the kids are dealing with," Sowers said. "We tried to deal with it as a team and not as individuals, trying to help each other. Some of the kids were very close to the young man that we lost from the high school."

Gloucester's possession and passing were strong right from the start, and its goals were the result of its dominance through the midfield. The Dukes (9-6, 7-2) are out of the regular-season race, but could earn a regional bid by playing well in the district tournament that starts next week.

"I'm kind of glad we finally stepped it up and got to where we wanted to go, beat the undefeated team," Gloucester forward Adam McGuire said. "We're hoping to look good in the tournament. We've been working on just getting (the ball) around them, and that's what we did today. We took them out early."